Save me, Godfather
by freiheit89
Summary: *** Alice can't remember much about the week before she wakes up in a hospital. All she knows was there was a lot of blood involved. When she wakes up, she has an unlikely visitor at her bedside: Chester Bennington, singer of Linkin Park. And he has an interesting story to tell. Will Alice believe him, or choose to shut him out? And what happens when she has to stay with the band?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: The start of this story may seem weird and badly written, so I want to let you know now that I did it on purpose. I'll explain it here just in case you don't get it. The main character is in a coma and close to waking up. As she does this, the tries to remember what happened. She's very confused and can't think straight (and even repeats things). This is why there are so many short sentences that jump from different subjects in that first paragraph. But anyway, I hope you enjoy the story! :)

~Rina

Prologue

Alice's POV

I am floating in oblivion. All I remember is the blood. Oh god, the blood. There was so much of it, just pooling around the bodies. Wait, the bodies? Whose bodies are they? I don't know; I can't remember. Where am I, anyway? There is nothing but darkness around me. My brain feels like its pounding against my skull. I try to rub my head but I can't seem to move my arms. What is going on, I-

"I think she's waking up," a voice says.

Suddenly, there is nothing but light. Bright lights that are blinding me and voices that I can't make out. Except for one voice. A familiar, yet unknown voice. It speaks to me calmly and softly.

"CeCe? Hey, come on. Wake up please."

The way the voice speaks makes me want to listen. But I'm not ready yet. I take a deep breath and let the darkness consume me once again.


	2. She needs me

Chester's POV, a week earlier.

"DUDE!"

I groaned as a yell cut through my good dreams, shaking me awake. I pulled the pillow over my head, trying to ignore whoever was at my door, close to taking it right off the hinges with the force they were pounding on it with.

"Go away!" I yelled back, willing my body to go back to sleep.

"Chester, get the fuck up!" I realized it was Mike now, my friend and fellow band mate. He was trying to open the door that connected our hotel rooms. He was failing miserably because I had slid the dead bolt into place before bed, not wanting to be woken up. Kind of like this.

"No, fuck off." I said, sitting up despite of my comment.

As much as I didn't want to get up, I knew I had no choice. Today, we were meeting with some director about ideas for a new music video. We were doing it for the song we had just released called Burn It Down. None of us, the band, knew what to do for the video, so we had hired a director who said he was full of great ideas. We hoped he was right.

"CHESTER FUCKING BENNINGTON! If you don't get up right now, I'm going to-"

I quickly ripped the door open before he could finish. Mike stood there, looking a bit pissed off. "Last time I checked," I began as I let him in, "My middle name was Charles, not fucking. And you interrupted a good dream, asshole."

Mike grinned. "Next time get up when I tell you to."

"You're not my mother." I muttered.

"No, but I'm the only one in the band who gets up on time."

I sighed. He had a point. He was the only one. The rest of us just wanted to sleep this early in the morning and kind of relied on Mike to wake us up. That didn't mean we made it easy for him though. Brad, our guitarist, actually threw a book at Mike's head once, just missing the side of his head. It had been tense for a little bit after that, but we didn't usually stay mad at each other very long. We were too close for that.

"What time are we meeting the director?" I asked as I went searching for my luggage. I often hid it because we like to pull pranks of each other, usually involving missing underwear. Where had I shoved my bag this time?

"Around eleven." Mike flopped down on my bed, leaned over, and pulled my luggage out from under it. I grabbed it from his hands with an eye-roll.

"It's only nine, so why am I up?"

"Because I was bored."

Of course. I picked some clothes up at random and examined them. They matched, so good enough. I walked towards the bathroom to shower. "Try to keep my underwear where it is, please." I told Mike. "Or I'll throw the dirty ones at you."

"Gross, dude."

"You've been warned."

I shut and locked the bathroom door. I got undressed and turned the shower on as hot as I could stand it. I didn't take long, suddenly not trusting Mike alone in my room. I had just finished drying when there was a knock. I wrapped the towel around my waist and opened the door. Mike was standing there, my phone in his hand, pale as a ghost.

"It's the police," He covered the mouth piece and lowered his voice to a hiss, "from Canada!"

I stared at him. Why would the RCMP be calling me? I obviously hadn't done anything considering I hadn't been in Canada for a little over a year. I took the phone from his hand and slowly put it up to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Mr. Bennington." a gruff male voice spoke back to me. "I'm Officer John Little from the Saint John RCMP. I'm calling concerning a document found with your name on it."

I sat on my bed and rattled my brain. "What kind of document?"

"One you seemed to have signed in 2000 regarding custody of a young girl."

I gulped. Now I remembered. My good friend Kim had asked me to sign a paper when her daughter was five, saying that if anything happened to Kim, her kid would be legally under my care. The girl had been like a daughter to me. I had protected her from the abusive father. Then I did the horrible thing that I could never forgive myself for.

"What happened to Kim?" I asked the cop on the phone before the guilt could start munching on my insides.

There was a pause, then he spoke grimly. "She's missing. I can't share too many details over the phone, but we need you to come to Saint John right now. Her daughter is in the hospital."

"Why?" I demanded.

Another pause. "She was hit by a car. She's in a coma."

Without thinking, I told the cop I was going to be in Saint John in two days. I hung up and got dressed, then started packing my luggage. I forgot Mike was in the room until he spoke up.

"What are you doing?" He asked. "You better not be leaving!"

I stared at him. "I have to," I whispered, "My Goddaughter needs me."


	3. Reminded of her

A/N: So this is how the format is going to be for the next two chapters or so: It will switch between Alice and Chester, Chester's POV being a week before or whatever it says, until up to when he arrives at the hospital, then the timelines from Alice's and Chester's POV will line up. At first, I was going to just do Alice and Chester separately, but now I'm mushing it together because Alice's chapters are too short. Ok, just wanted to make sure you guys weren't confused! :)

~Rina

Alice's POV

I hear a lot of the same voices- except the gentle voice. That one hasn't spoken in a while. I do hear it crying sometimes. Why are you crying, stranger? Are you crying for me? Please stop, it makes me sad when you cry. Although I don't know why. Do we know each other? Are you part of my family?

My family. Are they here? No, I can tell they're not. Other then the gentle voice, I don't think I've heard any other voices that could be classified as family. Mostly business-like voices. Why isn't my family here? Do I even have a family? Yes, I must have a family.

So where are they?

Chester's POV, five days earlier

I leaned back and pulled my hat down over my eyes, trying to shield them from the harsh lights of the airport. I was tired, and still had another four-five hour drive ahead of me. The only flight that had left the earliest I had wanted to go was one that had two stop overs. I had gone from Los Angeles to some random town somewhere in the middle of the states to another random town (actually, the second one had been more like a village). And now I was in New York, waiting for the goddamn rental place to show up and give me a fucking car that I needed to trade for a Canadian one when I got to the border. It all was just exhausting. I didn't mind though. I needed to get to Alice.

"Mr. Bennington?"

I lifted my cap and peered at a man standing in front of me. He looked no more than twenty and had shaggy hair and ratty jeans. Not someone I thought would use 'Mr' for anything.

"Yeah?"

"I'm here to drop off the car your rented." The man pointed out a window to a dark blue Toyota corolla that looked like it wouldn't even run. I looked back at the man, who looked embarrassed. "It was the only one we had available on such short notice."

I sighed and shrugged. "No big deal. As long as it can make the four our drive to Maine."

The man nodded quickly. "Of course. She runs better than she looks, trust me."

He held out a tiny key ring with one single car key on it. I stood up, grabbed my bag from the ground and took the key from his hand. "Thanks, man." I nodded to him and quickly walked away. After shoving my duffel bag into the backseat (I'd left my full luggage with Dave, the only one I trusted with it) I got into the driver's seat and started up the car. It rattled to life with a sputter and I groaned.

This was going to be a long trip.

At about noon, I checking into a hotel in the city, flopped onto the bed and just lay there. I momentarily forgot why I was here and just closed my eyes. I was so fucking tired, it wasn't even funny. But I had stuff to do. I sat up and called the number Officer Little had left for me and waited for him to pick up.

"Hello?" The cop's coarse voice filled my ear.

"Hi, it's Chester. I'm in Saint John now."

"Good deal. I know your probably tired, so if you want, we could meet at the station tomorrow? We have some things we need to discuss before you go to the hospital."

I nodded, being so tired that I forgot he couldn't see me. "Yeah," I said, "Sounds good. I'll be there tomorrow." I hung up the phone and groaned.

Deciding against a shower, I merely changed my clothes and went to the nearest fast food place. The closest was a Burger King that was still going through it's rush hour. The drive-thru was packed but the inside was a bit emptier. I debated for a good twenty minutes in the parking lot before I pulled my hat and sun glasses on, hoping to disguise myself long enough for me to get food and get out. I went inside and waited impatiently for my turn, constantly looking around to make sure no one was noticing me. I was just trying to figure out if a woman across the store recognized me when someone tapped me in the shoulder.

"Umm... Excuse me?"

I turned to find a tiny girl standing behind me looking very timid. She looked about twelve or thirteen. She was blushing and my heart clenched. She reminded me of Alice, who was very much the same way. Or, at least, she was when I left. What was she like now? I felt like I didn't deserve to know. But I pushed the thought aside and smiled at the girl.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Umm..." She paused, obviously thinking through her next words, "You're Chester Bennington, aren't you?"

Sliding my sunglasses down my nose, I winked and put my finger to my lips, signaling a joking 'hush' to the girl. She giggled then dug through a little handbag at her hips. A tiny purple book was pulled out and she opened it.

"Could you sign this for me?" She asked in a quiet voice.

"Of course." I said. Taking the book from her hand, I stepped out of the line and produced one of the sharpies I always carried around. I knelt down to her level and placed the pen on the page. "Who am I making this out to?"

"Sherri," She said, "With an 'I'" She added as I started writing. I nodded and scribbled a short message: 'Sherri. Always smile, never frown. You could end up making someone's day.' I signed my name and handed the book back to her. She read it over and smiled brightly. "I like that! Thank you!"

I smiled. "You're welcome. It was nice meeting you, Sherri."

Still smiling, the girl scampered outside and showed all her friends the little book. I rushed to get my food, just in case someone else got a burst of confidence and decided to find a piece of paper for me to sign.

Out in the car, I lay back and sighed. I have no idea why I had thought of that quote right then. It was one I used to tell people often when I found them upset or refusing to smile. The band hated it, so I had stopped about two years ago. Maybe it's because of the way Sherri had reminded me of Alice. It was her that had gotten me to make I quote. As I drove away from the parking lot, I focused to remember.

Chester's memory, eleven years ago.

I sat in my black sedan, hands over my face as I waited for the calm before the storm. I could hear Kim and her asshole boyfriend Jared yelling even through the walls of the house and my car. Alice was somewhere in the middle of that but if I went in there now, neither of us would make it how alive. So I waited until it had quieted down a bit- enough that I couldn't hear them- to make my way into the house. I walked right in, not caring about the look of contempt I was getting from dickhead. Kim started yelling again- not at me, but at Jared, telling him to ignore me. He happily obliged and went back to yelling as well.

This was when I needed to dash. I went to the bathroom, where I knew Alice hid during her parent's fights. The only door in the house with a working lock (and an untraditional one at that), it was the ideal hiding place. It was locked, as I had expected, so I took a match from my pocket and jiggled it in small opening that served as the keyhole. The door clicked open and I stepped inside. The only source of light came from a tiny night light plugged in over the sink where Alice sat. She looked at me when I came in and smiled the sad smile of hers. I quickly went over to her and scooped her up into my arms.

"We're leaving." I said.

Alice nodded. She wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her face into my shoulder. I went back out into the sitting room. Jared's back was to me, so I tried to make an easy escape. I caught Kim's eye on my way out and saw the relief in them when she saw Alice in my arms. Unfortunately, this told dumbcunt what was going on. He spun on me and glared.

"Where do you think you're going with my daughter, faggot?" He growled.

I rolled my eyes. "Germany, Japan, Taiwan, Africa. Who knows? Just basically anywhere but here."

"Just let him take her." Kim said. She grabbed onto jerk-rod's arm and yanked hard. The burley man turned and slapped her. Hard.

Alice whimpered as the slap cracked and I jumped out the door. I opened the driver's door of my car and pushed Alice over the middle console to the passenger side. She buckled in as I peeled out of the driveway, wishing there was something I could do for Kim. The woman had made it clear long ago, though. At times like this one, I was to get Alice out. She cared about her daughter's safety more than her own, so I wasn't to try to help her. I pulled my glasses off my face and sighed.

"Chazzy?"

I glanced over at Alice. She was looking at me curiously. I reached over and patted the top of her head. "What, Cece?"

She looked away, out the window. "You don't smile anymore," She murmured quietly, "Why?"

Because your dad is a douche. Oh, how I wish I could say that to her. But she wouldn't like that very much. She doesn't like swear words, so instead I say: "Because I'm worried about you and your Mum." I pulled up in front of my apartment and shut the car off. Mike was on the balcony, having a smoke. He better finish before I get up there.

Alice unbuckled and turned back towards me. "But I like your smile." She whispered. "It..." a pause, "makes my day!" She blinked at me and it was clear I wasn't getting out of this. I gave her the most genuine smile I could muster. It worked. She smiled back brightly and hopped out of the car. I heard her yell something that I couldn't make out up to Mike as she skipped towards the entryway. That poor girl's life was going to be hella long.


	4. Save me, Chazzy

A/N: No more of Alice until Chester gets to the hospital. I was going to write one in this chapter, but decided to save it until a little later. This way, I can get both Chester's and Alice's reaction to her waking up. Sorry if I've disappointed you! :) Oh, and I was in a very stupid-making mood while I wrote this chappy. So Chester is a bit mean (only in his head, of course) because I was bored and I want to made this story amusing even through it's tragedy. I'll let you start reading now!

~Rina

Chester's POV, three days earlier

The red-brick building in front of me looked intimidating. It had few windows and the ones that were there had metal bars and obvious bullet-proof glass. These people definitely took self-protection to the next level. I took a deep breath and pushed through the outer doors and waited for someone to buzz me into the next set of doors. While I was escorted towards Officer Little's office, I couldn't help but feel like a prisoner or something. The stares from people said that they wondered what I, Chester Bennington, was doing here. I just wanted to get this over with and get to the hospital. The trainee cop who had led me through the building stopped at a solid grey door and knocked tentively. Considering Officer Little had canceled yesterday I was in a hurry to get started.

"Come in," barked the gruff voice. The young man in front of me opened the door like it was the trigger to a bomb and peeked in slowly.

"Sir?" He asked in a quiet voice, "Mr. Bennington is here to see you."

"Send him in."

The young cop opened the door wider and stepped away, gesturing me in. I nod a thank you and step inside the office. It's small and lit by the large picture window behind the desk, where Officer Little sits. I quickly take in his appearance. He's a big man, and not by muscle. He fills the whole leather office chair he sits in. He's obviously much older than me, with a white, receding hairline. His face is plump and red, like he just ran a marathon (or maybe just walked to the doughnut machine). Is this the guy that's assigned to help Alice? Geez, he looks like he can't even make it out of his chair, let alone to the hospital. Must be more of a behind-the-action kind of guy.

"Please, ," He motions toward a chair in front of the desk, "Have a seat."

I nod stupidly and make my way towards the chair. It's not very comfy and I had to adjust multiple times under Little's hawk-like gaze until I could face him seriously and actually talk.

"So," I decided to start, "Can we just cut to the chase of whatever this conversation is for?"

Little chuckled. "Of course. I understand you're concerned for Alice, so we'll get right to it."

The man pushed himself out of the chair (so he COULD get out of it) and walked (picture a penguin walking, you still don't get close to this guys waddle) to a filing cabinet beside his desk. He opened a drawer and I peeked in, expecting lines of files in alphabetical order. Instead, I saw a brown handbag and only a single file stuffed with tons of papers. Little took out both and pushed the door shut with his knee. He came back over to the desk and placed both objects in front of me. He pointed to the purse first.

"This is a purse we found at the crime scene. We found many other objects, but this was the only one that didn't belong to any of the bodies that we found." He looked at me, probably to gauge my reaction.

"It's Kim's, isn't it?" The man nodded. I was almost relieved that Kim wasn't dead, but the fact there had been bodies at all kept floating around my head. "Just out of curiosity, do you know who the bodies that you did find were."

The officer hesitated, then nodded. "I am allowed to tell you, if you'd like to know." I nodded and Little sighed. "It's a tragic thing, really. We got called to a domestic disturbance at Kim's parents house. The caller was a neighbor who said that there was a lot of yelling going on but he didn't know who was doing it. We rushed over as soon as we could but when we got there-" Little stopped and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He obviously wasn't going to finish but I needed to know.

"People were dead." I whispered.

Little nodded and sighed. "Kim's parents, her uncle David, and another man we have yet to identify. All brutally murdered." He let out a short, sad laugh. "There was blood everywhere. Kim wasn't there and no one has been able to get ahold of her, so we can assume the murderer probably has her."

I closed my eyes and shuddered. I tried not to think too much about anything right now. "Where was Alice?"

"Out for a walk, I guess. She came back while we were still investigating the bodies. I'll never forget the look on her face. Horror, just pure horror. She ran off before I could catch her. Ran right onto the freeway and a pickup hit her. She hasn't woken up since."

I fought back the urge to cry. I didn't like any of the images I was imagining. I shook all thoughts out of my head. I'd think about it all later, in the comfort of my own hotel room where I could cry in peace. "So how did you to know to call me?"

"This," Officer Little opened the folder and sifted through the papers and pulled out a document. I could clearly see through the paper and spotted my signature at the bottom. It was slid across the desk and I picked it up. "You signed this when Alice was about three, correct?"

"Yeah," I said.

"And it states...?" He obviously wanted to make sure I knew.

I recited the paper without even reading it, surprised I still remembered almost exactly what it said. "If anything were to happen to Kim in a manner so serious that she cannot take care of Alice, she is to be put into the care of her Godfather." I put the paper down. "In other words- Me."

"You know you have the right to refuse care, don't you?"

"Of course," I snorted, "but I don't want to. Even if I did, who would take care of her? Her grandparents are dead and any aunts or uncles are all out west."

"What about her father? I don't know much about him but-"

"Over my own dead body." I said before he could finish.

"Okay." Little said quickly. He took out a booklet of sheets about three pages long and handed it to me. "All you have to do is sign this and you can see Alice tomorrow."

I scanned through the pages and read about stupid stuff like how I couldn't back out after I signed and that she'd be permanently under my care until her mother was found. I signed, handed the papers back and stood up.

"See you tomorrow, officer." I started to leave.

"Wait! I almost forgot." The man stood up and waddled to a closet I hadn't noticed before. He opened the door and bent over to pick something up. He came out with a bulky laptop bag and walked around the desk to give it to me. "It's Alice's. We don't need it, so I thought you should have it.

I thanked him and left before he could remember anything else he forgot.

Back at the hotel,

I sat on my bed and stared at the contents of Alice's bag. It had contained a Compaq laptop, her cell and iPod, some school papers, and a couple books. No wonder it had been heavy. To avoid thinking about the dead, I quickly picked up the laptop and opened it up. It booted up instantly. Must have just been in sleep mode. I stared at the picture of an anime character on the password screen and I couldn't help but laugh. She'd liked anime as a kid as well. Nice to know she might not have changed too much. I sat there for a second. She most likely didn't have the same password she'd used for game sites as a kid, so I just typed in random things until her password hint popped up.

"It's hard work," the computer chirped at me.

I jumped and stared at the screen. So it's modified. Is she a hacker now, or just the friend of one? I shook my head and abandoned the laptop, opting for the iPod touch next. It was one of the latest models with a camera. It was white instead of black, as well. I slid the lock bar and groaned at another password prompt. Also, she had the number password turned off, so it was a big long one with letters. I saw more anime on the screen. It was Yu-gi-oh and it made me remember something Alice had once said to me.

"I'm the princess of games, and I'll rule beside Yugi!" She'd said before as she had waved the duel deck I had gotten her in the air.

I started typing 'Princess of games' into the iPod when the purple phone near my foot vibrated. I yanked my foot back quickly. Why the hell was I so jumpy? I rolled my eyes at myself and picked up the cell. An LG Xenon. I saw that a text message was coming in and that she had at least 20 missed texts and calls. I searched for and then clocked the unlock button, bracing myself for another password. It didn't pop up. I sighed in relief and opened the latest text. The name on it was 'Lena-chan.'

"Alia!" It read, "Please answer or call me or something! Where r u? R U okay? Please answer..."

My fingers hesitated over the reply button. This girl was obviously worried about Alice. I should really call her or something. But she didn't know me. Maybe she'd be freaked out about some random man calling her from her friend's phone. I closed the text out and quickly read through the other ones. The first ten were from Lena while the rest were from only three other people named Leslie, Chloe, and a boy named Julian. I couldn't help but wonder if he was her boyfriend and felt a little fatherly anger if he was. I ignored the feeling and went back to the iPod.

The password 'princess of games' worked in the iPod but not in the laptop, so I searched through the iPod notes for passwords but found nothing. I didn't want to snoop anymore but I needed to get into the laptop. I went for the emails first and hoped they were logged in. They were. I found an email from the Julian kid that was subjected 'password retrieval' and opened it.

Julian! I forgot the password to my new computer! _ Can you believe how STUPID I am? Lol. Anyway, can you work your magic and hack my comp for me? I tried but it didn't work. Here is my IP address! Hurry!'

I reread her message over before I moved onto the reply. She seemed like a happy teenager. Probably not once she wakes up, though. Julian's response is a bit more serious.

'Alia, you forgetful child. This is the third time I've had to do this. Make a habit of writing your passwords down or something, because I'm not doing it again. Your password is *snicker* LunaBennington. Planning a wedding, Luna-chan?'

I hung my head and couldn't help but laugh. I didn't even read the responses. I'd gotten my password and was scared to read the rest, not that I'd ever admit it to anyone. I typed in LunaBennington and the computer beeped cheerfully. I closed my eyes as soon as the background appeared, then cracked them open to peek. I was staring at the shirtless form of myself with black angel wings digitally added to my back. Written on the top of the screen were the words 'angel of revenge' but it was the words at the bottom that made my breath catch.

'Come same me, Chazzy.'

Blinking back tears, I closed the laptop and pushed it away. The words rattled around in my head in Alice's voice. I remembered the first time she had spoken to me.

Chester's memory, fourteen years ago

I hadn't expected the phone call that had changed my life. Especially not from Alice, considering she was only two at the time.

I sat in the living room of my tiny apartment. I stayed here sometimes when I was traveling. Kim paid for it when I wasn't around and I paid her back when I came around I was lucky to have a friend like her, even if her boyfriend didn't like me much. It really didn't bother me because I didn't like him either, so it was all fair game between us.

I was watching TV, nearly asleep when my the cordless by my ear rang it's shrill tone. I was jerked awake and fell with a loud thud off the couch. Without bothering to get off the floor, I reached back onto the couch and grasped the phone. It being Kim's number was the only reason I answered it.

"Hey." I said as I laid back against the couch.

No answer. I waited for a good ten minutes until I repeated my greeting. Still nothing. I was about to hang up, until I heard a whimper. I focused my hearing and I could faintly make out screaming the background. Kim and Jarad's voices were unmistakable. The jiggling of a doorknob came next and I realized with horror what I was hearing.

"Alice?" I whispered.

I heard the door on the other end open with a bang, the Jarod's voice yelling at Alice. Another whimper, then she spoke. A broken sentence that was full of fear.

"Save me, Chazzy."


	5. Surprise visitors

Chester's POV

*beep beep beep beep*

I cracked my eyes open and stared at the alarm clock. It was eleven? I had set the clock for 9:30! I jumped up and stared around the room. I saw that Alice's stuff was on the desk over by the tv and I froze. I had put everything on the other bed-

"Yo, dude."

I spun around quickly to see Mike standing in the doorway to the bathroom, a towel held in his hand. I blinked as my brain tried to process what was going on. When things finally clicked together, I glared at my bandmate.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked in anger, then I held up a hand as he tried to speak, "No, better question. How the hell did you get in?"

Mike grinned and reached back into the bathroom. He appeared with a shirt and pulled it on. "How about I answer both?"

"I don't really care, just answer." I growled.

"Well as to how, the guy at the desk knew who I was and let me in. Why?" He shrugged "I thought you'd need some moral support."

"Oh." Yeah, I know it sounded stupid, but it was the only thing I could think of saying.

"So," Mike pointed to the alarm. "Seems like your late for something."

"Damn!" I quickly grabbed some clothes and got dressed. I put my shirt on wrong for the third time before I finally got it right. "I was supposed to meet with the cop assigned to Alice's case half an hour ago. I don't even know where the fucking hospital is!"

Mike grinned that knowing grin of his and went over to his bag, which I was just noticing now. "Well then it's a good thing I grabbed..." He dug through the bag and pulled out something small and compact. "Cecilia from your car."

I smiled at Mike. He'd gotten the GPS out of my car back in LA. I clapped him on the shoulder. "What would I do without you, man?"

Mike shrugged. "Probably be late for everything and get yelled at a lot."

I snatched the GPS out of his hand. "Come on. Officer Little is probably already at the hospital."

"His last name is Little?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, don't try to imagine him based on his name. You'll be _way _off."

Chester's POV

Officer Little was tapping his foot impaitently while he waited outside of the hopistal. He looked pissed.

"I'm so sorry." I said as I jogged over to him. "I messed up when I sat the alarm last night."

Little sighed and shrugged. "It can't be helped, I suppose. But let's not waste any more time." He gestured with a finger and Mike and I followed the cop to an elevator, up six floors, and down the hallway.

"So.." I hesitated. I wanted to ask how Alice was doing, but did I really want to know before I saw her. I decided I did. "How is she? Any improvments or anything?"

"No, not really. I've been visiting for a couple days and the doctors determined that she resonds well to gentle coaxing more than any test they could give her, so maybe she'll improve once you're around."

I nodded. "I hope so."

Nothing else was said as we went down a couple more hallways. As we went, the doors got more solid, less windows around and in them. But the colors got much brighter. There were greens and purples and blues all along the walls. I caught sight of a lounge with a few game consoles hooked up to a couple TVs.

"The hospital here has almost a whole floor for each age group." Little said."They say having an eviorment in which the paitents can be around the noise level their used too can really help them recuporate." He turned down another hallway and the colors dulled. They were still there, but they somehow seemed darker. "This is where the more serious paitents are treated."

We walked to the very end of the hall and the cop stopped at a plain, brown door. I gluped and took note that I'd started shaking. Alice was behind this door. So close, and yet still so far. I didn't know what she looked like now. Would she even remember me when she woke up? I thought back to the background on her laptop and I decided that she very well might remember. I nodded at Little, who then placed his hand on the knob and slowly pushed the door open. It felt like a scene out of a movie; with the door swinging open to reveal something the character didn't exactly want to see, but needed to. Little stepped away and I walked around him into the room.

And there she was. Alice lay on the hospital bed in the middle of the room. Her dark brown hair was fanned across the pillow in light waves and she breathed through a tube. Three monitors beeped around her as an IV bag dripped fluids into her body. I obviously didn't know how skinny she had been before she'd gotten hit, but she looked very tiny and fragile. Like she'd break if anyone touched her. Against my will, a small, strangled cry escaped my throat. A hand appeared at my shoulder and I turned. Mike was there, looking at me sympathetically. Suddenly, I was glad he'd come down.

"Ahem..." Officer Little cleared his throat. I turned towards him. "I've arranged it with the doctors that you can stay here overnight with her, if that's what you wish."

"Thank you. Is there anything else I need to know?"

The Officer shook his head. "Not currently. I'll let you know if anything else pops up in the investigation, but then that you probably won't see much more of me."

"Alright."

The cop left and I sighed. I glanced back at Alice in the bed. She didn't look that much different from when she was a kid, albeit a bit taller. Her face, though. She looked much too old for her age. How old was she now anyway? I did the math in my head and came up with 16. Yes, her face was definately showing lines that shouldn't be there yet.

I went over to the side of the bed away from the door, pulled up one of the chairs by her bed and settled in for the wait, however long it took.


	6. Awake and Remembering

Chester's POV

Three days. That's how long I've been waiting. The doctors said it's been over a week since she was hit. They keep telling me she should wake up very soon, but she's not. I don't do much. I sit by her bedside and hold her hand. I talk to her sometimes, too, but only when no one is in the room with me. I ask her to remember me when she wakes up. I don't think I could handle her flipping out at seeing some strange man by her bed. She whimpers in her sleep, as if she's in pain. The doctors assure me that she can't feel right now, but I can't bring myself to believe them.

She came close to waking up once. The day after I showed up. I was alone in the room, talking to her quietly when her eyelids fluttered slightly. I called the nurse in and she checked Alice out. She then in turn called the doctor in.

"I think she's waking up." The nurse said.

Alice's hand twitched in mine and I leaned close. "Cece? Hey, come on. Wake up please."

Her eyes opened. Just a crack and we all watched her carefully. Then, as if she didn't have the strength to go any further, she closed them again. Nothing has happened since. Mike sits by her side when I absolutely have to leave but other than bathroom breaks, I don't leave. Mike gets food from the cafeteria and brings it up. I always wipe away the tears before he sees them.

How much longer are you going to make me wait, Alice?

Alice's POV

I can feel your hand, stranger. It's soft, like your voice. I wish I knew who you were. It'd make things so much easier for me. Can you tell me your name? No, I guess you can't because you can't hear me. Maybe I should try to speak.

"Hykk..." Nothing but a strangled sound escapes.

"Doctor!"

There's your voice! I've been waiting to hear it! But who did you call? A doctor? Does that mean I'm in a hospital? Why am I here? Was I in an accident? Please tell me!

"I think she tried to speak."

Yes! That's what I'm trying to do! I want to know what's going on! I try again, but still no sound comes out. I whimper pathetically. This isn't working. I don't like the darkness anymore! I want out! I scream, and surprisingly, it breaks through my throat. No, don't let go of my hand stranger. I curl my fingers desperately and they move. Maybe I can send my message with my hand. I whimper and curl my fingers again. This time, you slip your hand back into mine and I squeeze tight.

"Try communicating." A doctor says. Dammit, just say his name! All I want to know is his name!

"Cece? Can you hear me? Squeeze my hand again if you can hear me." I squeeze tightly, and then wiggle my index finger. I try to write on the back of your hand but I'm holding too tightly. Reluctantly, I remove my hand and write in your palm.

"Who are you?" I try to write with my finger, but I only get as far as who when my hand gives out.

"What is she doing?" A doctor asks.

"I- think she wrote who in my hand." Well, at least you aren't stupid.

"She might not know who you are," An unfamiliar voice says. He's not a doctor, I can tell. Maybe someone else I know? "Tell her."

"Hey," You take my hand again. "It's Chester. Do you remember me? Squeeze again if you do."

I dig through my brain, trying to put a face to the name. Chester? I can't seem to recall. You're probably someone from when I was a kid. I don't remember much from my childhood. It's too painful to remember. I loosen my hand sadly.

"I don't think she's going to open her eyes." The doctor says. "Let's go."

"Bastards." You hiss, and then sigh. I write who in your hand again. I still want to know who you are, even if I can't see you. You laugh. "Try remembering me by Chazzy. It might be easier."

I search my memories again. Chazzy? I don't think I- Wait! There's a face coming up. A man who used to come get me when my parents fought. A man who would play with me when my "friends" wouldn't.

My godfather. I squeeze your hand as tight as I can. I remember you! I just wish I could see you. I try to open my eyes and I feel my eyelids flutter. The glimpse of the harsh lights is enough to make me jam them closed again. I steel myself and try again. I forced my eyelids open quickly and I gasp. The lights are so dazzling, so I turn my face to the side. There's the silhouette of you. I still can't make out your face. I try blinking the spots out of my eyes.

And I see your face in person for the first time in years.

Chester's POV

When Alice finally clutched my hand tightly to tell me that she remembered me, I couldn't even begin to describe what I was feeling. All I knew was that it was very euphoric. I wanted to cry, but Mike was still in the room and I didn't want to cry in front of him right then. I also didn't think I could get any happier.

But then she opened her eyes. I watched quietly as her eyelids fluttered, then stopped. I waited patiently, hoping she'd try again. She did just that when her eyes opened quickly. She gasped and turned her face towards me, blinking quickly. My hand was still in hers and I leaned back a little, waiting for her to see me. Her eyes focused and she stared at me for a second.

"Cece." I murmured.

Alice blinked again, seeming to still need to focus. Then, she surprised me. She smiled. A genuine smile that said she was happy for me to be there. I swooped down and gathered her in a hug. Alice wrapped her arms around me in return and buried her face in my shoulder. I felt the tears soaking my shirt before I realized she'd started crying. I patted her shuddering back and attempted to soothe her with quiet shushes. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Mike slip out the door and heard him call to the doctors. This was the time when I let a few tears slip through. I kept a tight grip on Alice, determined not to let her go again.

"Hey," I whispered quietly, pushing her head gently away from my shoulder.

She leaned back and studied me. I wiped the tears from her cheeks with my thumb and she blushed. I tried pulling away to sit back in my chair, but Alice tightened her grip and yanked me back toward her. I laughed and settled on the bed beside her instead. Alice put her face back into my shoulder. She took a deep breath and the shuddering stopped. Her face turned towards me.

"I missed you, Chazzy." The whisper was so low that I barely heard it. Mike and the doctor came back in before I could respond.

"Nice to see you're awake, Alice." The doctor, whom I still haven't bothered to learn the name of, said cheerfully. Then he turned on me and smiled. "I'm going to have to get you to get up, Chester, so I can take the breathing tube out."

I started to slide off the bed but I was stopped short by Alice's hand, which had gripped my elbow sometime in the process of our emotional reintroduction. I glanced at her and saw she was looking back at me, her eyes fearful. I gently took her hand off my arm and laid it down on the bed. Then, I sat in the chair to show her I wasn't going anywhere.

"Ready?" The doctor asked.

Alice nodded at him and sat perfectly still as the doctor worked the breathing tube out. He told her to breathe through her nose and he- none too gently, I noted- yanked the tube from her throat. Alice coughed and spluttered and the tube came free and took some serious gulps of air through her mouth. The doctor then checked her out and said that she would be ready to go home in a couple days. I thanked him and he walked out. Mike silently followed the doctor and I watched as they spoke. I ignored them and turned back to Alice. She was staring at her hands that were twisted in the blankets. She was obviously trying to avoid my gaze now. I sat back on the bed with her and waited for her to say something.

"Why are you here?" Alice asked quietly.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I answered.

She didn't reply right away. Then she whispered so softly that I had to tilt my head towards her to hear. "Because you left," She said, "I didn't think you'd ever come back."

I refrained from telling her that I didn't really have a choice, because it sounded rude. Instead, I said, "Your mom is missing." She didn't look shocked, so I continued. "I'm your legal guardian right now."

"What about my grandparents?"

I opened my mouth, and then closed it again. She'd forgotten, or maybe never saw who the bodies were in the first place. I thought carefully about my next few words, trying to soften the blow as much as possible.

"Cece," I started, "Do you remember the bodies?" Alice finally looked at me. No, she was looking through me, searching for the memory. She nodded and I kept talking. "What exactly do you remember?"

"I remember..." She paused, "Getting into a fight with Mum. I can't remember what it was about, but I stomped out on her and went for a walk to cool down."

Alice stopped talking. I untangled her hands from the thin blanket and clasped them tightly. "Keep going." I coaxed. "What else?"

She stared at our intertwined hands and continued. "After a while, I turned around and went home. The first thing I saw was the ambulance, then the cop cars. I ran into the house and..." She stopped and closed her eyes. "My grandparents are dead, aren't they?"

I didn't know how to respond, so I just nodded. Alice took a deep breath and slid down under the blankets. I let go of her hands and let her roll over away from me. I knew this was how she coped with grief, with silence and half-ignorance. She had never been one to talk about her feelings and this obviously hadn't changed. I walked over to the window and sat on the windowsill. Somehow, I already knew that this was going be slightly difficult.


End file.
